Mustafa Dossa, convicted in the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts case, died on Wednesday, a day after the CBI sought the death penalty for him.

Mumbai: Mustafa Dossa, convicted in the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts case, died on Wednesday, a day after the CBI sought the death penalty for him. Dossa, who was lodged in Arthur Road jail, was admitted to the JJ Hospital at 3am after complaining of chest pains, sources said, adding that he was suffering from uncontrolled hypertension, diabetes and infection.

The CBI had on Tuesday sought capital punishment for Dossa, arguing that his role in the blasts was "more severe" than that of hanged convict Yakub Memon. The CBI said Dossa was one of the "brains" behind the conspiracy and that his degree of responsibility towards the commission of the crime was the highest.

The court, in the second leg of the trial in the blasts case, had on June 16 convicted five accused, including Dossa and extradited gangster Abu Salem, under the charges of murder, conspiracy and sections of now repealed TADA, while the sixth accused Riyaz Siddiqui was convicted only under TADA Act.

As many as 257 people were killed in the coordinated blasts that ripped through the city on March 12, 1993. The court had acquitted another accused Abdul Quayyum of all charges.

The trial of the seven accused Abu Salem, Mustafa Dossa, Karimullah Khan, Firoz Abdul Rashid Khan, Riyaz Siddiqui, Tahir Merchant and Abdul Quayyum was separated from the main case as they were arrested at the time of conclusion of the main trial.